Hoss, My Son

Chapter 5

The next morning, Hoss was sitting at the table sharing his scrambled eggs with Inger as Prudence finished cooking a ham steak for him.

"Now, you know Eric, they deserve some time in the limelight. After all, it's their first. We have plenty of time to tell everyone," she said.

"Yeah, I know, I know. And I'm real happy for them, Pru. It was just that with everyone gathered together, it would have been easy to say something. But I guess we can wait 'till Christmas."

They heard Gertie come down the stairs. Dr. Martin had started to bring her to see the expectant mothers he did rounds on since she had finished all the chapters related to female anatomy, childbirth and newborns. She was dressed in the black skirt and white shirtwaist she reserved for what she considered her "medical work" and her hair was neatly bound on top of her head with Joseph's barrette holding it all together. She carried a small case with a clean apron, her new obstetric stethoscope, a pad of paper, and a pencil.

"Breakfast, Gertie?" her sister called.

"Just a cup of coffee. I'll take some bread for the ride. Hoss, is the buggy hitched up?"

"Sure thing, sweetie. Who're you gonna see today?"

"Um, let's see; Mrs. Maloney, Mrs. Sturdiman and Mrs. Bond. I should be home by mid-afternoon."

The first two ladies had previously had children and they were doing well mid-way through their pregnancies, so Gertie didn't expect to see anything she hadn't already seen in her previous visits with the doctor. However, Alice Bond was a first-time mother, and this was the first time Gertie would be seeing her.

"That's good," said Prudence. "Rest now while you can. You're going to be pretty busy come spring next year. And speaking of which, did you speak to Sally Ann? I know you've known for a while about her being with child. Are you going to be her midwife?"

"I haven't talked to her about it, no. It's too early for her to think about it and I haven't even seen a birth yet, much less managed one. But while we're talking about pregnancies," Hoss winced at the word, "am I correct in thinking that you're having another child?"

"How could you know?" asked Prudence, a little put out.

"Well, I know the signs, naturally. And I know you. You haven't been nursing Inger for a while and suddenly your breasts have gotten full again." Hoss winced a second time.

"Alright! Yes, I'm with child again. Now don't say a word of this to anyone."

"I won't, but I thought you wanted to wait until after Inger's birthday to start trying again."

Hoss recovered his voice. "Well, life doesn't always go according to plan, ya know. But it's a blessing any way you look at it. Now go on, you! You don't want Dr. Martin to be waiting on you, do you?"

They were just about to leave the second house when Paul Martin pulled her aside and spoke quietly to her.

"I want to tell you about Mrs. Bond. Not only is this her first child, but she has a very narrow pelvis. Tell me how you think that is going to affect her delivery."

Gertie looked at the doctor. She felt herself going pale. "If her pelvis is that small, her only chance of surviving would be to dismember the fetus in utero and extract the parts," she whispered.

"And if she refused?"

"A Caesarean section could be performed, but it is highly unlikely that she would survive," she answered, equally quietly.

"A devil of a choice, wouldn't you say?" he asked.

"Yes, but it is not our choice, is it, Doctor."

"No, and that is exactly my point, Gertrude. We will do what we can for both Alice Bond and her child, but it ultimately will be the choice of her and her husband. With luck, we will be able to save one or the other, but not both. I want you to think about that and whether you will be able to live with those sorts of dilemmas if you wish to continue this path." All she could do was to go back to the text book again when she got back home, hoping to find something, anything she had missed before that would give her the spark of an idea about how to save both mother and child. She found nothing more than she already knew.

XXXXX

It was a few nights later and Sally Ann was sitting in front of the fireplace, curled up against Adam. He had wrapped the two of them in a blanket and they both were feeling a little sleepy after a good dinner and the warmth of the fire.

Suddenly, Adam whispered to Sally Ann, "You know, if the baby is a girl, I'd like to name her Elizabeth, for my mother."

"Elizabeth. It's such a pretty name. I like it," she replied dreamily.

"And if it's a boy, I'd like to use her maiden name, 'Stoddard' as his first name and either one of our father's for his second."

"'Stoddard'! That's a big name for a little boy," she said, coming completely awake. "Why don't we switch it to his second name?"

"I think we're going to have enough 'juniors' and 'seconds' in the family with our two brothers and sisters. Besides, 'Stoddard' is different. He'd probably be the only one in the entire state. We could call him something like 'Bud' or 'Butch' informally."

"No," she said indignantly. "It seems like half of Nevada is called by those names." She thought for a moment. "How about 'Dard'?"

"Hmmm…'Dard'…," Adam rolled the name around his mouth, savoring it. "It would work."

After visiting the three expectant mothers, Gertie had a few days when Dr. Martin hadn't any need of her, so she spent them caring for Andy. He was thrilled to have her with him again. He loved Sally Ann who was with him when needed, but Gertie was special to him. Now that Thanksgiving was past, the grownups had begun to talk about Christmas. Baba said that people shared gifts at Christmas, and that meant that he would get presents, but it also meant that they had to think about what they were going to give to the others in the family. Baba said it was important to give gifts that the person would like, and that they would have to think hard about it. Andy was willing to give the topic some thought, but he tended to suggest giving cookies, cake and candy to everyone. There were two exceptions, however; Inger would love his wooden horse and he was willing to part with it, (in the hopes that his present from Baba would be a real, live horsie). However, Baba explained that Uncle Hoss had made the wooden rocking horse just for him and he was now making another one for little Inger. So, Andy thought a little more and suddenly crowed, "Dollie!," a suggestion that Baba said was a perfect choice.

The other special person was Auntie Gertie, of course. Both Andy and his father agreed that she deserved something very special.

"'Nother bah-ett?" asked the boy.

"No. Something else. Something pretty that she wouldn't buy for herself. I just don't know what," Joseph said.

"We think hard, every day, Baba. Then we know jus' right."

Joe read Andy a bedtime story and then put the child in his crib. Lowering the flame of the lamp, he took off his boots and stretched out on his bed. Andy always fell asleep more easily if there was someone in the room with him, whether it was his father or Gertie or sometimes even Grandba. Often Joe would doze off for a few minutes only to awaken when in his subconscious he heard his son's breathing become slow and deep.

He walked downstairs where Ben was sipping some brandy and reading the paper. Most nights Joe would join him and quietly enjoy a glass with him or pick up one of Adam's old books. Tonight, however, he couldn't sit still. Ben looked up from the article he was reading. His youngest had always been quick to move, reacting more rapidly than any other member of the family to any stimulus, but this was a restlessness that was different. Ben was surprised it had taken this long to surface.

"Pa," Joseph said in a moment of decision, "I'm going to go to town. Don't worry if I don't get back 'till breakfast."

"Going to Miss Dorothy's." It was more a declaration than a question and Ben couldn't condemn his son from going to the establishment, not when he had spent some time there himself.

"Yeah," was the only thing Joe said. Ben merely nodded his head. There was nothing else to be said.

XXXXX

Adam met Hoss outside the big house. By the time the summer had ended Ted had come up with a solution to prevent jackknifing of the new wagon tongue and the new Clydesdale harnesses and fittings had all been completed. Of course, they were still a long way from being able to sell any of the big red horses, but both brothers felt that the up-built wagons were marketable without them. The only problem was where to build the factory to produce them. Hoss's land was dedicated to the horses and the hay and oat fields to support them. Adam only had a few acres since he and Sally Ann hadn't intended to do any farming or husbandry and they didn't care to put a factory that close to their house unless it was unavoidable. Hence, the brothers went inside to sit and discuss the matter with their father.

It was a cold day and Gertie was sitting with Andy by the fireplace, playing with some toy soldiers. The game was quickly abandoned when the two men entered. Andy ran to them and launched himself into Adam's arms first. After a hug and a kiss, he tossed the boy to Hoss, earning a shower of giggles before his big uncle could wrap him in a big bear hug. Joe came down the stairs, belatedly ready to start his workday.

"You know, brother," said Hoss, still holding Andy tightly, "he laughs just like you. Give it a few years, and we won't know who it is."

Gertie walked over to take the child from Hoss. Joseph nodded tightly at her but didn't say anything in the way of greeting. "I've also found that if 'Baba' doesn't like a certain food, Andy won't try it," she said. "Hop Sing had to come up with all sorts of casseroles and such just to get some vegetables into him." She glared at the boy's father. "You could do with some variety in your diet as well, Joe."

"Don't. Not today, Gertie. I'm not in the mood. Excuse me, I've got chores to take care of."

Everyone watched in surprise as the youngest brother pushed by the eldest and went outside. Ben murmured, "I thought he would be in a better mood…" He hadn't seen when he'd come in early that morning. His father couldn't fathom if it was seeing his brothers or Gertie or something else entirely that had suddenly soured him. "Well, anyway, what can I do for you boys?"

As usual, it was Adam who took the lead. "We're ready to start selling the heavy-duty wagons. We need a place to put the factory."

"Did you have any particular place in mind?"

"There's that rocky meadow about a mile northeast of the barn," answered Hoss. "the one where you sometimes graze horses. It really doesn't have all that much grass there. I don't suppose it'd be much of a loss if we took it, would it?"

"No," replied Ben. "We've only use it now if we have an overload of stock. It would take some work to remove the rocks before you built your factory, though."

"Yeah, you're right, Pa. We just couldn't find anything else that was large enough that couldn't be put to more productive use," answered Adam.

"And 'sides, we can use the rock in building the factory," was Hoss's contribution.

"You're also going to need to build a foundry as well."

"Yes, Sir. But if you're wondering about the cost, Adam and I can split it three ways with you."

Ben was surprised. Adam had inherited some money from the Stoddards, but the Borgstrom's had had nothing, and Marie had been orphaned. Hoss and Prudence worked hard but they had to pay Peter Torkelson's salary. Perhaps with Pru's influence his middle son had stopped putting money into all sorts of wacky inventions and Joseph's get rich quick schemes.

"I'd be very pleased to go into partnership with you, boys. Shall we call it 'The Cartwright Wagon Company'?"

"It's as good a name as any," replied Adam.

Joe had more to think about than he cared to admit. The night spent with one of Miss Dorothy's girls had been adequate, nothing more. While his physical needs were taken care of, emotionally, he was as empty as ever.

Thinking about a present for Gertie, just thinking about her at all left him in a quandary. On the one hand…but then on the other. He just couldn't figure out what he thought at all.

He was the one brother who had been born into security, if not wealth. Unlike Adam and Hoss, his childhood was spent in one place. And if he had lost his mother at a young age, at least he had memories of her. But the cost of that was the searing memory of watching her horse stumble and throw her and how she came to rest in the dirt of the yard with her neck in an unnatural angle. And then Pa was away for weeks, and Adam took on everything; running the ranch and being a father to him and Hoss, trying to comfort them and reassure them that their father would return, and being stern and unyielding when five-year-old Joe reacted defiantly. If he wouldn't accept Adam as the head of the house, then maybe the fates would return his father to his rightful place, but if his brother settled into the role too well, then there was no need for Pa at all. He remembered pummeling his brother with all the might of his skinny child's arms, hating him for being a substitute for the only person who could head the family. Only Hoss, already almost man-sized at eleven, could stop him. Adam hadn't lifted a finger to stop the assault and after Hoss had pulled Joe away, he just looked sadly at his youngest brother before turning away. It took years for Joseph to realize how much pain and loss Adam carried in his soul and how often he had been asked to be a man when he was still just a boy himself. You grew up fast in the west and on a ranch. From the time you could lift a trowel and pump water into the watering trough, you had chores and responsibilities of your own to face. But he and Hoss had always had Adam to quietly help and encourage them. And Hoss was all-forgiving and all-protecting. When Adam left for college, it was Hoss who watched over him, lay in bed with him when the nightmares overtook him and kept him from getting into too much trouble. Adam had been a second father; Hoss was his first and best friend.

Joe knew that as the youngest, he benefitted from his father's leniency. Less was demanded of him than his brothers, he had more time for play and the ranch hands and Hop Sing treated him with a bemused laxness that they didn't much extend to Hoss, and not in the least to Adam. When his brother returned from Boston, it confused Joseph that Adam didn't still defer to his wants and desires like everyone else did. And if truth be told, it took his eldest brother nearly leaving the family again over their differences for him to see how spoiled he was. Adam had told Pa that the two of them couldn't share the same house, and he decided he would leave because Joe still needed to remain at home, to mature more and finally become the man he was meant to be. That was the night that Joseph realized that he was not all that he thought he was. It was also the night that he realized how much he loved Adam.

XXXXX

It was mid-day. Joe had finished with his morning chores, and Hoss and Adam had returned to their respective homes to eat with their families.

Adam entered through the kitchen to find Sally Ann ready with a plate of warm soup and freshly baked bread.

"So, what did your father say about taking that piece of land for the factory?" she asked.

"He had no objection to putting the factory there and we now have a new company as part of the entire enterprise."

"That's wonderful. Of course, I had no doubt that he'd agree to the idea. When will you start building?"

"First, after I eat I'll go up to my study and start working on the building plans…" Adam was interrupted by a knock on the front door. Since no one was expected, especially at this time of day, both the and Sally Ann went to answer the knock.

Standing there on the porch was Miss Dorothy with Winnie, the youngest of her "girls" whose face was hidden by the hood of her cloak. It had been a long while since Adam had seen Dorothy, longer still since he had frequented her "house." Sally Ann could plainly see who and what they were, but she strongly doubted that her husband had utilized their "services" since they had started seriously courting.

"Dorothy?" Adam said, surprised. "What can I do for you?"

"You know what all you can do, Adam Cartwright! You can make it right, after what happened to Winnie last night!" Dorothy said menacingly.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"This is what I'm talking about," and the older woman pulled the cloak from Winnie's face, revealing a black eye and deep bruises about her face. "This is what Little Joe did to her last night. I thought he was different than you, or did you teach him how to abuse a woman?"

"I never left a woman wounded, and you know that, Dorothy," Adam replied angrily. "And neither would my brother."

"Well, you did like your fun rough, ain't that right? Not all of my girls would go with you. Now how much do you think that information would be worth?" She turned to Sally Ann. "Would you say, Mrs. Cartwright, that it's worth a thousand? Maybe two thousand to keep your husband's name out of the gutter? And Adam," she turned back to him, "how much would you spend to keep Little Joe's secret?"

"Get out!" he roared, pushing Dorothy back through the doorway with Winnie quickly following after.

"I told you it wouldn't work. It's not what I wanted anyway," said Winnie once she and Miss Dorothy were back in their buggy. "All I wanted was to convince Joe that he could marry me. I don't care about the money."

"Honey, I told you before, ain't no one like the Cartwright's gonna want to marry a girl from a cat house, no matter how young and pretty. They only thing you can get from them is money, and we is gonna get what we can. Now for our next stop."

Adam had mounted Sport as soon as the two women had left. He figured they would go back to Virginia City and he wanted to speak with his brother before he went to the Sheriff's Office with a complaint of blackmail, but he was surprised to see that they had turned off to his father's house.

In the big house, Ben, Joe, Andy and Gertie were sitting down to left-over stew. Gertie had Andy on her lap as she fed him from her plate. He had a piece of bread in his chubby hand, and he was mopping up all the gravy. Like Joseph, he seemed to be a lefty, and he was very thorough about getting all of his bread moistened with the juice from the stew.

"Hop Sing," Gertie called, "could I have more gravy for Andy? He likes it a lot." The cook was about to take the plate when there was a knock on the door.

"I get door first, then more gravy."

Miss Dorothy marched in, pulling Winnie along by the hand, nearly pushing Hop Sing into the sideboard. Everyone at the table stood at the disturbance.

"We'd like a word with you, Little Joe!" she declared.

"Gertie, take Andy upstairs and stay there until the ladies have left," commanded Ben.

"No," she said calmly. "I know who these women are. I accompanied Dr. Martin on his last inspection of Miss Dorothy's house."

Ben, Joe and Hop Sing all stared at her.

"Hop Sing, would you please take Andy upstairs for me?" she asked. "I am interested in why the ladies are here."

As soon as the cook disappeared with the boy, Dorothy pulled back Winnie's hood.

"Look at what your son did last night, Mr. Cartwright!"

"No! Dorothy, my sons would never raise a hand like that to any woman, not even…"

Adam burst in, panting. "Wait Pa!"

At the same moment Joseph voiced a vehement denial; "I didn't…."

"STOP!" shouted Gertie. Everyone turned in shock to look at her. "This makes no sense! Joe is left-handed. If he had hit her, most of her bruises and her black eye would logically be on the left side of her face, but they're on her right." Gertrude returned to the table and plunged a corner of her napkin into her water glass. She then strode up to the other young woman and wiped her black eye. Makeup smeared the napkin, and the eye underneath was perfectly normal.

Unlike Adam, Ben didn't yell. His voice was almost unnaturally quiet. "Dorothy, get out of my house, get off of my property. And take this, this 'girl' with you."

Once they had removed themselves, Adam and Joe collapsed on the settee, both of them with their heads in their hands. Their father stood in front of the fireplace looking at them while Gertie had retreated to the dining table to look on.

"Boys, what started this?"

It was Joseph who spoke first. "Winnie seemed to get something into her head last night that I was been unusually nice to her and that I wanted to start courting her, that I might want to marry her. She kept asking me why I wanted the youngest girl in the house if I wasn't looking for someone marriageable and she just didn't understand when I said that it didn't mean anything special."

Adam looked over at him with a quizzical look on his face. "Young?" he thought to himself. "Does he realize what he is really looking for?"

"And you, Adam," his father turned to him. "What's your part in all of this?"

Adam looked at Gertie. He was sure that Sally Ann wouldn't have shared any of their most intimate details with either of her sisters, but most especially with the fifteen-year-old. He had to find a way to answer Ben without being crude and inappropriate. "I have been known to, ah, enjoy certain, eh,…games. But nothing like what they were accusing us of."

"Uh huh," was all his father said. Ben then turned to Gertie. "And I assume your parents have no idea that Paul Martin took you into that establishment? If you were my daughter, I would insist that you end your association with the doctor. In fact, I am going to have a few words with him myself!"

"No, please don't. And please don't tell my parents. The only reason that Dr. Martin asked me to come along was because he wanted me to see how a venereal disease presented. Anyone can end up with one, even good women. And he didn't force me to go. He told me where he was going, and it was my choice to join him. And the women seemed to be more comfortable with me there, believe it or not. Finally, you'll all be glad to know, whatever else you can say about Miss Dorothy, her house is clean. If I promise not to go there again, do you have to tell my parents?"

Ben sat down on the edge of the fireplace with a sigh. "Come here, Gertie." He patted a place next to him on the stones. "You're very mature for your age, but you're still only fifteen. I understand what the doctor was trying to teach you. I suppose it is important to be able to recognize such things, but, well he could have waited a while for that particular lesson. At your age, you shouldn't be forced to give away ideas of romance and idealism. They're lost soon enough as it is." He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him. "I won't discuss this with your parents, I promise. But next time I see Paul, I'm still going to have a few strong words with him."

Everyone stood up, embarrassed. Adam broke the silence, announcing that he was going back to his home. As he left, Joe pulled Gertie aside. Whispering, he said, "Once again, I owe you so much. I hope you know that I would never abuse a woman like that."

She squeezed his hand. "I know, Joseph. I know."